Today I parked beside a curb in a parking lot and turned too tight. My rear wheel went on the curb and I backed off at a very low speed. But the car fell on the curb somehow and the passenger side undercarriage got busted up below the front door. Two holes about the size of my fist and a dangling piece that I need to deal with. So, should I repair this? Or just live with it (except for the dangling piece)? Is there an aftermarket piece that would cover it up cheaper than a real repair? Am mainly concerned about rust/corrosion and resale value. It's a new 2013 with 11,000 miles. Thanks.
It's lucky this damage is under your car, you can ignore it and nobody will know it's damaged. You can possibly use a strong epoxy type glue to glue back the piece that's dangling. SM-N900P ?
2013 Toyota Prius C Parts - Camelback Toyota Parts - Genuine OEM Parts - Free Shipping You will have to have it painted, though. It's cheap compared to the 2010+ Prius, which cost $300-$500.
OP doesn't have a C. From what's shown in the pictures, there shouldn't be any issues with rust. I would just do like JC91006 said and try to glue the dangling piece up. do not know if it would hurt resale value, mainly depends on how visible it is and how close the buyer inspects the car and how much they care. I wouldn't worry about putting any money into it until you're trying to sell it (or if it bugs you). For all you know, you could fix it and then have something else break the piece again.
2013 Toyota Prius Parts - Camelback Toyota Parts - Genuine OEM Parts - Free Shipping If you wait another year, they will have it in your color for an additional $100 or so. Glue? Why NOT use duct tape?
If you bought your Prius, you can wait to repair or not repair at all. If you leased it, you will have repair before the end of the lease.
The glue is easier on the eye if you happen to look there, should hold better too, especially when wet. SM-N900P ?
That won't show if you glue it back, possibly back it up with some material on the inside. That sill will come off really easy, pop out about four plastic plugs and a couple of screws with a 10mm socket and it should be easy to clean and repair. The wife scratched the left door sill on a curb and I took both sides off and covered them with a sheet of red carbon fiber pattern film. I'll have to re do them as the plastic film has faded to pink, can't have that on a manly Prius.
Get it repaired and water tight as soon as you can otherwise if rust gets into any steel sections you'll get real big problems further down the line.
My two cents is that I'd attempt gluing it. Just because it's not visible, and just needs to be "put back". A full out repair for that piece could get costly. Bodywork is just so expensive that getting it "officially" fixed could become a costly enterprise. It's kind of up to the OP what level of restoration they will be happy with. If just getting the piece back in place is the goal, then I think there are numerous grass roots options that would be less expensive than a full out part replacement and/or body shop repair.
Maybe a used one from eBay, already the proper color? That would be my first choice. Second choice would be to take a utility knife and cut off the dangler. From a body professionals' point of view, unless you're plastic welding it, it's not a permanent repair.
Thanks to all. Have cut off the dangling piece and there is no damage visible unless you look under the car. There are holes and fractures in the plastic piece down there so it will not be a simple patch. But will look into patching it later.
